Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-04

A Crossed" Check-0Id Firms and
Their Numerous Branches.
| To the American the methods of con-
| ducting business in London seem slow and
antiquated. There is an evident desire on
the part Of many large firms 10 make the
| transaction Of business difficult instead Of
| easy There is an outer inquiry office, at
which you must give your name to clerk.
who often intimates by his looks that he
is comforting a favor by taking il the
name Is passed on TO an inner Office and
YOU are probably told to take seat in a
reception room until the principals are at
liberty 10 see you. All this contrasts
strongly with the accessibility of business
men in America.
The greatest caution is exercised in the
opening of new accounts Before You can
bay goods you must first either De intro
duoed by an old customer or establish
your responsibility and solvency. If You
step into large bank i'll London and put
your money on the counter and ask To buy
q draft on New York, Berlin or Paris you
will be told that they do not know you
and can only sell drafts 10 their regular
customers OF TO people introduced by
them There is no question that the
money you offer is not good, but they do
not know You.
STILL A STRANGER.
was once, years ago, refused a draft
In hank In which had u special deposit
It money at interest, and. notwithstand-
ing brought the clerk from the special
deposit department Of the bank 10 vorlch
for my identity, the draft clerk told me:
"Ah. yes, you have a special deposit in
-. 4, I,,t ,,1 4.
received from any one without introduc-
tion, and really, since you have never
been introduced 10 the hank, you are still
in the position Of a stranger 10 us, and
we cannot sell you the draft"
Another banking custom that seems
strange TO lis is that open checks mot
crossed are paid to strangers without
MITIGATION. II Won have a check pay
able 10 John Jones or order, the bank
does not require that you lie identified -
John Jones, but you present the check,
indorse Your name John Jones on the
hack and receive the money in bills or gold.
But most checks are crossed and not
open checks, and yOu cannot get the
payment of crossed check by present
ing il personally at the bank, no matter
how much you may be identified. To
cross" check you draw two parallel
lines across the face of it. and write be
tween them either the name of the bank
with whom the person to whom the check
is payable intends to deposit it, or simply
the terminal words 81 Co. :" any check 30
crossed must be deposited in n bank for
collection and presented by a bank mes
senger for payment. This crossing Of
checks thus forms an almost absolute
safeguard against payment 10 the wrong
persons. Ii might he adopted with ad
vantage in other countries.
WITH A DOZEN BRANCHES.
Some of the London banks have de
posits of 800, GOO. 900 and $50 ON, 900.
but this is the total of deposits Of the ma
hank in the City If London" Of its
dozen or more of branches in ':larrer
London - and its thirty or forty country
branches, SO that "a compare the deposits
of the largest London banks with those Of
the largest New York banks would hardly
be fair. unless you added 10 the deposits
of the New York banks the deposits OF
all their correspondent banks.
The principal OF subsidiary branches is
carried through many other businesses.
Some of the clothing and furnishing
houses, the grocers and provision dealers
tea merchants, fruit stores, Overs and
cleaners, restaurants, booksellers and sta
TONERS have from six 10 twenty branch
establishments. Oftentimes you find two
or three shops ON the same street belong
ing to the same firm. 1t is said that a
shop on any of the main thoroughfares in
London can afford 20 cheat every Gus
toner, because the crowd Of strangers
passing the docr will continue To furnish
new victims year after year. Ii may he
that experience proves that when the
number Of people passing is SO great that
the opening Of one or two new shops in
the same street by the same firm does not
affect the business OF the old house. But
many old firms cling 10 the old and often
dingy premises long after they have out
grown them. Age in London is the great
badge of respectability. Old estab-
lished,r "Business established over fifty
years, " or zone hundred years is seen
in shop fronts almost as often as To the
Queen" ''Patronizel / y the Royal Fam
ily.n For this reason You find some of
the largest firms in the city in the little
alleys, lanes or courts, where they first
started.-London Cor. Philadelphia Times.